The Naftali Group announced that Matthew Van Damm has joined the firm as executive vice president.
Van Damm brings more than 12 years of experience to his new position and will report directly to founder Miki Naftali.
Naftali Group’s portfolio includes the new 182 West 82nd Street and plans for 206-210 West 77th Street, also on the Upper West Side, in Chelsea at 245-267 West 25th Street, and in Gramercy at 234-238 East 23rd Street.
Prior to joining Naftali Group, Van Damm served as the director of operations at TOWN Residential.
Throughout his career in real estate, he has collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned designers and architects and the industry’s top management companies and developers.
His project work includes the pre-development planning, marketing, sales and leasing of properties including 15 William Street with CIM Group, icon at 306 West 48th Street, The Charles developed by Bluerock, The Cocoa Exchange, DKLB BKLN- developed by Forest City Ratner, One Avenue B, the Aldyn and The Ashley developed by Extell.
Van Damm graduated from Mount Saint Mary College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Minor in Public Relations.
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Houlihan Lawrence announced that Christopher Mitchell has joined the company as a licensed salesperson.
Specializing in residential and commercial sales in the Northern Westchester and Putnam County regions, Mitchell will be working out of the brokerage’s Somers office.
Closing a deal on his very first day in the real estate industry in 2010, Mitchell was most recently director of sales at Sommerlyn Associates Real Estate, Inc., a boutique Manhattan brokerage.
Prior to his time at Sommerlyn, Mitchell was in sales at Phillip Morris USA (now Altria Group) and a principal/co-founder at Cohl-Owen & Company, a boutique marketing and branding firm.
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Matt Rand, managing partner of Better Homes and Gardens (BGH) Rand Realty announced that 13-year Orange County NY real estate veteran Tina Olsen has joined the firm’s New Windsor NY office.
Olsen is a licensed New York State Realtor & associate broker, formerly of RE/MAX Benchmark Realty Group in New Windsor, and John J. Lease Realtors of Newburgh, NY.
She specializes in assisting home buyers and sellers in the Greater Hudson Valley residential home market.
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Douglas Elliman Real Estate announced that agent and appraiser Kathleen Bowen Ha has joined the company’s Scarsdale office.
An associate broker with more than 25 years of real estate experience, Ha also holds the highest level of appraisal license as a Certified General Appraiser and has been qualified in New York State Supreme Court as an appraisal expert.
She also serves as the vice president of the New York City Chapter of the American Society of Appraisers. Ha’s other areas of expertise include green building and historic homes.
Prior to joining Elliman, Ha founded her own real estate firm, Global Keepers LLC, with an emphasis on serving clients interested in energy efficient and eco-friendly home improvements.
She specializes in Edgemont, Scarsdale and the Rivertowns, and serves a diverse body of clientele from Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, and London.
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Fox Residential agents Roni Cowan and Karen Gorstayn have been awarded a Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation after completing the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) comprehensive course.
Considered one of the leading certifications in the industry, it provides agents and brokers with a platform for securing and closing transactions.
The course, created in 2006 by Tom Hayman, CEO and owner of Negotiation Expertise, is offered at REBNY through the Real Estate Negotiation Institute (RENI). A combination of group discussions, case studies, and interactive role-playing exercises provide students with important skills needed to confidently and successfully reach agreements in a wide array of situations.
Roni Cowan has been an agent with Fox Residential for 25
years.
Her sales have included apartments and townhouses in many popular locations including the Upper East Side and Midtown West and East.
Karen Gorstayn has been an agent with Fox residential for three years, with a focus on apartment sales and rentals in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
